Automatic cone loading and filling station

ABSTRACT

A carousel magazine that hold stacked paper or hemp smokable cones. The carousel is indexed with a home position sensor to a set of actuators that is controlled by air or electric to open and close two different tapped holders. For example, the top and bottom gripping actuators can open and close to hand off one cone from a stack of one or more cone one at a time. The top actuator with a tapered cone split holder housing grips the top of the upper most stacked cones while the bottom gripper moves up using a second linear actuator the grab the bottom semi-hard filter assemble to pull the bottom cone from the stack with the top gripper applies presser or friction to the top cone allowing to hand off one cone at a time from top gripper to bottom gripper. The second bottom gripper that has captured the bottom filter assemble of the cone moves in a downward position to place the single cone in a rotating turret assemble that will rotate to a filling station and then rotate to a twisting station for final processing and packaging. The cones can be pulled from a rotating stack or linear stack.

This application claims the benefit of provisional U.S. Patent Appl. Ser. No. 63/361,413, filed Dec. 21, 2021, and incorporated by reference herein.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/856,271, filed Apr. 23, 2020, also incorporated by reference herein, which claims the benefit of provisional U.S. Patent Appl. Ser. Nos. 62/922,056, filed Sep. 23, 2019, and 62/995,884, filed Feb. 19, 2020.

I current novel invention is a carousel magazine that hold stacked paper or hemp smokable cones. The carousel is indexed with a home position sensor to a set of actuators that is controlled by air or electric to open and close two different tapped holders. For example, the top and bottom gripping actuators can open and close to hand off one cone from a stack of one or more cone one at a time. The top actuator with a tapered cone split holder housing grips the top of the upper most stacked cones while the bottom gripper moves up using a second linear actuator the grab the bottom semi-hard filter assemble to pull the bottom cone from the stack with the top gripper applies presser or friction to the top cone allowing to hand off one cone at a time from top gripper to bottom gripper. The second bottom gripper that has captured the bottom filter assemble of the cone moves in a downward position to place the single cone in a rotating turret assemble that will rotate to a filling station and then rotate to a twisting station for final processing and packaging. The cones can be pulled from a rotating stack or linear stack.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cone loading station. The cone removable tube land holder is 1. The rotation of the turret assemble is 3. The direction 4 of the linear actuator 13 moving the bottom linear actuator gripper 10 in the direction of up and down while the gripper opens and closes in the direction of 6. The upper gripper 8 moves the gripper split tapper cone assemble in the direction of 5. The motor 12 rotated with turret assemble. The cone 9 will be loaded in place of the cone 11 when the turret 14 rotates in new cone holder in place not shown.

FIG. 2 Is a side view of an automatic cone loading assemble 19 is the top cone grooved tapered gripper and 18 is the bottom cone grooved tapered gripper that is loaded in the turret assemble 23, that is rotated by motor 24. The lower gripper assembles 10,18 travels up and down by linear actuator 22. The bottom gripper taper split cone holder has a formed tube 17 that guides the cone 11 projectile into the cone holder 23. Both Actuators 8 and 10 open and close in sync to hand one cone from the top actuator to the bottom actuator one at a time in a up and down linear motion.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a cone loading where the actuator 10 is closed slightly and actuator 8 has released the stack of cones into the tapered holder 17. Once the hand off has been made auctor 8 closes on the top of the second one in the stack of cones allowing the actuator 10 to move downward with just one cone.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the top sensor 27 and the bottom sensor 26 that gives feedback to the computer that a cone 30 is in place for loading and will signal the operator the cone despising is empty.

FIG. 5 Is a side perspective view of a cone 30 being dispensed into a split cone holder 29 a,29 b. The actuator 8 is holding the stack of cones in place and will release the stack of cones into the holder 29 when the actuator 10 returns to the upper limit sensor of the linear actuator 22.

FIG. 6 Is a perspective view of linear actuator gripping tapered jaws 34,35 upper gripper and 36,37 bottom grippers actuator jaws. The top of the top cone is 39, the top cone is 32 that is stacked into the bottom cone 28 into the top 41 of the bottom cone 28. The top grippers 34,35 pinch cone 32 while the bottom grippers 36,37 that have a smaller tapered opening to match the taper of the cone will pull apart the friction between the two cones using gravity and friction between the grippers 36,37 and the hard-spiral filter material of the bottom of the tapered cone not shown.

FIG. 7 Is a front view of FIG. 6, 45,46 is the direction the tapered holders 34,35,36,37 opens and closes.

FIG. 8 is a cut away view of FIG. 7, the hard filter on the cone is 50 a that enters into a receive 50 the top cone 47 is held by friction of the tapered walls 48. A stepper motor or air-cylinder opens and closed the tapered actuator holders to hand off one cone at a time.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the tapered cone grippers 52 a is the tapered cone receiver and 52 a is the filter grab zone that is slightly open when surrounding a stacked cone and then closed to grab and cone and pull it from a stack while the top gripper 52 c zone hold the top cone in place.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cone loading station 55 that rotated a cone to the next station by rotating turret 59 with motor 60 to the next weighing station 57 that fills the cone where it is rotated to the twisting station 56 for final assemble where it is discharges onto a conveyor or container.

FIG. 11 Is a top view of a cone loading 61, filling 62, vibrating 63 and twisting station 64 with a rotating turret assemble 65.

FIG. 12 Is a perspective view of a cone loading 61, filling 62, vibrating 63 and twisting station 64 with a rotating turret assemble 65, additional stations not shown. 

What I claim:
 1. Automatic cone loading station the uses two or more tapered split holders computer controlled by actuators to hand off one cone at a time to each actuator with different tapered grippers to load a rotating or linear drive system to weigh, fill and twist a cone of cannabis, hemp, tobacco or a combination a flower or oils. A third actuator is used to raise and lower a bottom actuator gripper to load a cone into a holder. The stacked cone assemble is released by the upper actuator with the top cone tapered into the bottom actuator with a smaller tapered gripper whereby the top actuator closes on the top cone that is stacked with inventory cones to hold the entire stack in place while the bottom actuator pulls the bottom cone from the stack of cones being held by the top actuator to place the bottom cone in a cone holder to be filled with an article. Sensor are employed to determine if a cone it in place, empty or full and to determine if the turret filled with cones in a removable tubular cone holder should index to the fill position if a cone is not detected in the filling zone sensor. A warning will be given to the operator if no cones are detected and the cone filling station is empty. The two actuator that controls the tapered gripping cone holders employ a second linear actuator that pulls a cone from the stack while the gripping actuator grips the filter on the cone that is the hardest section of the cone to grip in a downward motion.
 2. Automatic cone loading station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cones can be pulled from a rotating stack or linear stack. 